1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to marine floats of the type utilized to construct floating moorage facilities, and more particularly to a utility distribution structure for such floats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Floating moorage facilities are commonly constructed by securing a large number of rectangular marine floats to each other end-to-end. It is usually necessary to provide boats moored at the facility with utilities such as electricity, water, sewage and telephone. Various techniques have been used for accomplishing these functions.
One technique commonly employed is the routing of utility conduits within or beneath elongated wales extending along the sides of the floats to secure the floats to each other. This structure is highly advantageous under many circumstances since the utility conduits are readily accessible at the sides of the floats where utility outlets are commonly mounted, and the utility conduits are well protected and concealed. Unfortunately, mounting the utility conduits beneath or within the wales makes them fairly inexcessible for repair or modification such as the addition of new utility service. Additionally, installation of utilities for newly constructed marinas using this technique is fairly expensive.
Another technique for routing utility conduits throughout a moorage facility formed by individual floats is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,696, issued to Shorter, Jr. This latter approach employs a pair of relatively narrow floats which are interconnected by a deck beneath which the utility conduits extend. The utility conduits are fairly accessible since the deck is removable, but the open area between the floats causes the float to have substantially less load carrying ability than unitary floats of comparable width.
Another approach is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,202, issued to Thompson, in which tubular conduits extend along the float beneath a removable deck. The floats are spaced apart from each other so that the utility conduits are accessible through the open area between adjacent floats. The Thompson approach can thus only be used where the floats are longitudinally spaced apart from each other.
More recently, floats have been developed in which a longitudinally extending utility trench is formed in the deck of the float. The trench, which is normally covered by a removable plate, allows utility conduits to be quickly, easily and inexpensively routed from place to place. The principle problem associated with these conventional utility trench floats is the inherent weakening of the float. Concrete placed under compression is fairly strong, but concrete subject to tensional loading is substantially weaker. In order to place concrete under compressive loading, tie rods normally extend transversely through the deck. Fasteners are then secured to the ends of the tie rods to tension the tie rods and compressively load the deck.
Conventionally used marine floats employing a utility trench utilize a pair of tie rods each extending from one side wall of the float to the adjacent side wall of the utility trench. It has heretofore not been recognized that this structure inherently weakens the float because of the lack of compressive loading beneath the trench due to the absence of a tie rod extending continuously from one side of the float to the other.